“That’s right, plus he’s got thirteen trillion members of the collective to help him navigate any tight spots,” Vinod said. “The dude could even handle Everest since he doesn’t need food or oxygen. He’s a natural on any mountain or hill. You worry too much, Josh.”
“Absolutely not,” Joshua replied. “I got a lecture from Porter and Williams this morning about the mishap with Seth at the casino yesterday. Porter is royally pissed, and Williams is about as mad as I’ve ever seen her, which isn’t often. They were on the verge of ordering us back to the lab. We’re all skating on thin ice here. Guys, we’re not taking any more chances—just going hiking so that Seth can learn about the flora. Seth is not climbing. Period. Full stop.”
“But the ropes and gear I got are rated for over 2,000 pounds,” Vinod protested. “All three-hundred-fifty pounds of Seth should be okay. He can earn his merit badge later.”
“I’d like to have the experience,” Seth said, “and my actuators and servos are fully up to the task. I have a better sense of equilibrium than humans because of my internal sensors.”
“You said you’d honor all safety protocols,” Joshua said sternly, “and this is one of my own making. I’m not discussing this any further, Seth. You’re not going rock climbing, and neither am I.”
“I understand, Joshua,” Seth said. “I will, of course, honor all my promises regarding security measures.”
“Looks like it’s just going to be me and you, Rach,” Vinod said, still enthusiastic.
“You’re going to have to count me out too,” Rachael replied. “I’m afraid of heights.”
“Are you serious?” Vinod replied in an irritated voice. “You love the outdoors and all that nature stuff.”
“I love it alright,” she said. “Just not from an altitude of a thousand feet while staring at a rock face.”
“I’m the only one here with a sense of adventure,” Vinod retorted. “You two are lame with a capital L.”
Joshua entered the directions to the hiking trail into his phone and started to back up the Jeep. “Vinod, how about next time you check with us before going off script. The feds are footing the bill for our adventures, and you wasted a lot of money.”
Vinod ignored the dig from Joshua. “Whatever. Rach, can you hit the pairing mode on the radio? Need to get the tunes rolling from my phone.”
“No Bluetooth,” Rachael replied. “Aux cord only.”
“Whoa!” Vinod cried. “Stop the car! I have to sit in front so I can plug into the aux. No way we’re hitting the road without Radio Bhakti.”
“Vinod, sometimes you’re a real pain in the ass,” Joshua said as he stopped the car. “You know that?”
Rachael and Vinod traded places, Rachael seated in the back with Seth while Vinod rode shotgun as they drove into the mountains east of the city. Around each curve, they saw tall pine trees and brief glimpses of jagged mountains, some snow-capped, in the distance. As they climbed in elevation, however, the temperature dropped, and a drizzle started to fall as Vinod’s phone played “The Core” by Eric Clapton.
“The weather’s not so hot,” Rachael commented, looking out the window. “Maybe we ought to turn back.”
“I think we’ll be okay,” Joshua replied. “We packed some cold weather stuff and rain gear.” He periodically glanced in the rearview mirror to make sure the security team’s SUV was still in view. The black Escalade trailed them by fifteen yards as they rounded steep bends, continuing to gain altitude.
“Rach,” Vinod asked, “how can you be afraid of heights? You’ve jumped out of airplanes with me.”
“Jumping out of a plane is different,” Rachael answered. “In free fall, there’s nothing nearby to give you perspective, so it’s not so scary. You pull the ripcord, and the ground eventually gives your feet a soft kiss. But when you’re on the side of a cliff looking down, that’s really terrifying. You cling to rock for dear life and have no reserve chute. Nope, two totally different experiences.” Rachael looked out of her window, which began to fog. “Josh, it’s raining and getting colder. Are you okay driving in these conditions?”
“I’m fine. The Jeep seems to have good traction on this surface. No problem.”
“Are you sure? We could turn around at one of the overlooks.”
“I’m good to go.”
“Yeah,” Vinod said. “You guys can’t wimp out on everything, especially not a little trek in the rain. Might be romantic.” He made kissing sounds with his lips.
Seth puckered his lips to imitate the sounds, but Vinod waved off the gesture. “They’re not in the mood for fun, bro. Two wet blankets.”
The radio transitioned to a new song from Vinod’s phone.
“I don’t recognize that one,” Rachael said.
“The Vinod Bhakti school of classic rock is officially open,” he said as the song blared from the speakers. “I’ll give you a hint. It’s alt rock Canadian-style from the 90s.”
“I don’t know,” Rachael remarked after listening for a few seconds. “Never heard it before.”
“Josh?” Seth asked.
“Not a clue.”
“It’s Our Lady Peace. The song’s called ‘Starseed’ from their debut album Naveed.” When discussing music, Vinod always made sure to include the title, artist, and album name of any song that he referred to. As a rock music connoisseur, giving anything less would have been sacrilegious. He could even recite liner notes from his favorite vinyl LPs.
“You’re really digging deep today,” Rachael commented. “Our Lady Peace isn’t on my radar even after more than six years of your expert tutelage.”
“I’m a rock encyclopedia, Rach, and the biggest names aren’t always the best. Foreign, underground, alternative—there are a lot of great vibes out there. I spend a lot of time in stores that sell old vinyl.”
Seth’s interest was piqued by the song. “What’s a starseed?” he asked. “Is it like a von Neumann probe?”
“Who knows man?” Vinod replied. “A lot of rock lyrics are esoteric, just like poetry, but what kind of probe is that? I never heard of it.”
His eyes steadily on the road, Joshua explained the concept. “Mathematician John von Neuman hypothesized that self-replicating spacecraft could travel to other solar systems, where they would mine raw materials from moons, asteroids, and gas giants in order to make new probes that could then be sent to other solar systems to start the process all over again. The probe would essentially be a seed factory. The original probe, called the parent, could conceivably stay in the original solar system to perform any number of tasks.”
“If that’s the case, then there should be such probes all over the galaxy given its age,” Vinod said.
“That’s why many scientists invoke the Fermi Paradox, which states that no intelligent life exists in the galaxy.” Joshua laughed at the notion. “Well, we know that the Fermi Paradox has been blown out of the water thanks to our contact with Petri, right, Seth?”
“Right.”
“But Vinod has a point,” Joshua said, “which reminds me of a question I’ve been meaning to ask you, Seth. If the universe contains as much life as you say it does, how come some type of von Neumann probe hasn’t come to Earth yet? I mean, surely the idea has occurred to one of the thousands of advanced civilizations that you’ve made contact with.”
“Yeah,” Vinod said. “Sending a probe like that would be a piece of cake for a planet a billion years ahead of us, or even a thousand for that matter.”
“Redacted,” Seth replied.
“Of course,” Joshua said with a sigh as he ended his line of questioning.
Minutes later, the Jeep approached a bridge spanning a river with a slow-moving current. The road was wet but had good traction since its temperature was higher than that needed to freeze the rain landing on its surface. The bridge was a different story, however. It was much colder since it was not afforded the same insulation from the cold that the ground beneath an ordinary road provided. Rain had froz
en on its surface, a condition that was hard to discern by looking at it from a distance. It simply appeared wet.
The song on the radio transitioned to “The Body Electric” from Rush.
“Seth!” Vinod said excitedly. “A song about an android!”
“Really?” Seth asked.
“Yes, it’s about . . .”
Vinod couldn’t finish his thought. The Jeep was travelling fifty-eight miles per hour as it rolled onto the bridge. Unexpectedly, it slipped ninety degrees to the left, its tires devoid of traction on the ice. The Jeep’s momentum carried it at high speed farther down the bridge, careening sideways.
Joshua slammed on the brakes and turned the wheel hard to the right to try to correct for the skid, but the last-minute maneuver was only partially successful. The Jeep turned forward slightly, its front end pointed at a concrete post that made up part of the railing at the edge of the bridge.
For the first few seconds, the passengers in the Jeep remained silent as the horror of the situation unfolded in slow motion. And then reality hit as the Jeep headed for the railing, events speeding up again.
“Look out!” Rachael shouted as the car accelerated at high speed towards the post.
“Oh, shit!” Vinod cried.
The front of the car hit the post with such velocity that the airbags deployed instantly, but the impact didn’t dissipate much of the Jeep’s momentum. Its rear end angled upwards steeply, causing it to flip over the front end. The Jeep tumbled over the guardrail at the bridge’s edge, fell, and plunged into the icy river below.
Despite its roll, the Jeep landed upright. Four of its windows were smashed, and the vehicle quickly filled with icy water, its human passengers unconscious. Water rapidly filled the cabin, and the Jeep sank beneath the surface towards the river bottom thirty feet below. Within seconds, it landed on sand, rocks, and gravel, sitting crookedly, the passenger-side wheels partially buried.
Seeing the skid of the Jeep, the driver of the Escalade slammed on the brakes while still on ice-free road. Entering the bridge at a much slower speed, the SUV was able to stop at the precise point where the Jeep had breached the guardrail. Three security guards exited the vehicle hurriedly and peered over the railing at the silver-gray water below.
“The water restriction for Seth!” Agent One shouted. “How deep is the river?”
The second agent was already looking up the information on his cell phone. “Nowhere near one hundred feet,” he answered. “Maybe thirty-five max.”
“Call it in!” The first agent ordered.
Agent Three, already holding his phone, punched a number on his keypad, one that would connect him directly to the office of General Porter.
Breathing hard, Agent One shot a quick look at Agent Two. “Come on! You and me!”
The two agents scrambled down the steep incline—half walking, half sliding—and stood at the water’s edge.
“We’re going to need divers, and fast!” Agent One cried to his colleague on the bridge. “Have them airlifted in by chopper.”
The other agent, having removed his shoes, dove into the water, but resurfaced thirty seconds later.
“I don’t see it!” he called out.
His head disappeared a second time, but he surfaced again and swam for shore. “It’s too cold in this damn river. I can’t get that deep or stay down long enough even if I could.”
The first agent put his hands on his hips. “We’re screwed.”
Seth had suffered an injury which severely crushed the left side of his face and exposed part of his titanium skeleton. His left optic camera was no longer working. When the Jeep landed on the river bottom, he opened his door without hesitation and stepped with urgency to the trunk of the car. He retrieved rope from the bag Vinod had stored and then opened the front passenger door. The airbag was stuck to the ceiling, with air trapped inside.
Seth rapidly retrieved the unconscious bodies of Joshua and Vinod and, working faster than any human, sealed the end of the passenger airbag with rope, careful not to let any air escape. He then removed the inflated white bag from the car and tied it around the bodies of Joshua and Vinod. The buoyancy of the airbag allowed the bodies to float slowly to the surface.
Next, Seth grabbed the driver’s airbag, sealed it with rope, and removed it from the car. He tied the sealed bag around Rachael’s waist after removing her from the Jeep and stood on the river bottom as he watched her body ascend. With his right optic camera, still functioning perfectly, he noticed that Rachael’s airbag had a small tear that allowed air to escape, a steady stream of bubbles emanating from it and rising vertically in the current. Rachael’s body started to sink as she was carried downriver.
Seth ran along the river bottom, jumping over the stones that covered it while staying directly beneath Rachael’s falling body. His higher density made it relatively easy for him to move through the water. When Rachael’s body had sunk low enough for him to reach it with outstretched hands, he grabbed her around the waist and ran as fast as he could towards the river bank. The bottom sloped gently up, with Seth only ten feet from the water’s surface when, for the second time in as many days, his electronic tether was activated. He fell to the bottom, lifeless. Rachael’s body disengaged from Seth and floated downstream, still submerged as her arms and legs spread wide, her hair floating above her head like a fan.
Joshua lay unconscious in the intensive care unit at University Medical Center in Las Vegas, an endotracheal tube connected to a respirator having been inserted in his throat. A metal bolt measuring intracranial pressure was attached to his skull, its reading displayed on monitors next to his bed. His right arm was wrapped in a long cast extending above his elbow.
A group of physicians, including an intensivist and residents, walked into the room, Joshua’s body immobile.
“Status?” the intensivist asked.
“His cerebral edema seems to be resolving,” the chief resident remarked, “and his ICP is almost back to normal. We’re decreasing his sedation, and we’ll probably be able to extubate him in a few hours.”
“Okay,” the intensivist said. “I’ll inform Robert Langdon at NASA. He was very insistent that I call him. He wants to be here when Dr. Andrews wakes up.”
The next morning Robert Langdon, Vinod, and Seth sat at Joshua’s bedside in the ICU. It had been three weeks since the accident. Vinod had a cast on his left leg and held a pair of crutches. Seth looked perfectly normal. Dina Williams had decided that the accident should not be revealed to the public and had insisted that Seth’s head injury be repaired as quickly as possible so as not to cause suspicion. If it became known that android Seth had been involved in a serious accident while with the American personal and security teams, other nations might insist that the alien be released to an authority in another country, citing a lack of precaution on the part of the United States.
Joshua had been extubated and was breathing on his own, but his eyes were still closed. He rolled his head lethargically to the right and left.
“I think he’s waking up,” Vinod remarked as the group gathered around his bed.
Joshua slowly opened his eyes and tried to focus on the faces in the room. It took him a few minutes to gain enough consciousness to recognize who was present. Over the next several minutes, his memory of driving into the mountains returned.
“What . . . ?” he mumbled.
“Joshua,” Langdon said, “you’re just waking up. Relax.”
Joshua gradually became more aware of his surroundings and started to remember in greater detail how the Jeep had spun out of control. “Accident . . .” he said in a hoarse voice as the faces looming above him came into focus.
“Yes,” Langdon replied, producing a weak smile. “You were in an accident, but you’re going to be okay.”
“Where’s Rachael?” he asked, his brows knit as he failed to spot her near the bed.
“Joshua,” Langdon replied, “try to rest. You’ve been through a lot of trauma.”
<
br /> Joshua was becoming more alert with each passing moment. “Where’s Rachael?” he repeated, looking about him.
Langdon glanced at the others before answering. “Joshua, she didn’t survive the accident.”
“What?” Joshua replied, his voice frantic. “No!”
“Seth saved you and Vinod, but he was unable to save Rachael,” Landon said. “She drowned in the river.”
“Then how did Vinod or I survive?” Joshua’s eyes filled with tears. “Tell me!”
“Josh,” Seth said, “I tried my best, but I’m sorry. I wasn’t able to save her.” His voice quivered with human emotion as he spoke.
“You’re wrong!” Joshua asked. “Where is she?”
“Josh,” Vinod answered, sobbing. “You’ve been unconscious for twenty-two days. Her funeral was two weeks ago.”
31
Request
Joshua returned to his home after being discharged from the hospital, but he was restricted in his movements for the first month due to a broken right forearm that had been surgically repaired with plates. The scar on his forearm was long and would be visible for the remainder of his life. His right hip had been dislocated during the accident and was relocated at the hospital, but it still caused him pain as he walked. His physicians had reassured him that over time, the pain would slowly subside. He was given physical therapy for his injuries, and a home health nurse checked on his progress twice a week.
When he was more mobile, he wandered about his house, and the experience proved physically painful, although his emotional distress was far greater as he surveyed Rachael’s laptop, notes, articles, rough drafts, briefcase, and clothing. Her presence was palpable, and even her scent still lingered in every room. For several days, he limped through his home aimlessly, looking at her belongings, not daring to disturb them. The longer he could preserve everything just the way it was, the more his mind tricked him at odd moments into thinking that she might come through the door at any moment. He was able to intellectually grasp the reality of the accident that had taken her life, but emotionally he still drifted through moments of denial until those times when he forced himself to shower, eat, or run an errand.
New Eden Page 33
